Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-06-25
Death by PRESENTATION.

Death by precipitation is one of the old
est modes of capital punishment. 1t pre-
vailed widely over the earth in primitive
times. Traces and traditions OF it are
found here and there in different countries,
and in localities far apart. We can easily
understand how this should be so, for in
ancient times towns and villages were
almost exclusively built upon elevated
rocks ana nights. for the sake OF security.
The nucleus Of a town was usually large
isolated rock, such as the rock of the
Parthenon at Athens, the rock of the
Palatine at Rome, the rock of the Chateau
at Nice, and the rock of Zion at Jerusalem.
Precipitation among the Jews was one
form Of stoning, which was the recognized
legal punishment for hlasphemy. Indeed,
stoning" as the Mishna informs US, was
regarded as merely term for breaking the
culprit's neck. 1t was made imperative
that the house of stoning," as the place
from which the criminal was cast down
was called. should be at least " two storeys
high" and it was the duty of the chief
witness TO precipitate the criminal with his
own hand. If be was not killed at once
by the fall, the second witness had to cast
a stone on his heart; and if he still sur
vived the whole people were TO join to-
gether in putting an end to him with
shower of stones. This precipitation con-
stituted an essential and humane feature in
the act of stoning. Both modes we must
regard as an exceedingly primitive custom,
the most natural method in which rude
people would wreak their vengeance, or in
ffict deserved punishment. 1t was of
piece with the prehistoric custom of cast
ing stones upon the place where the dead
were buried, and so piling up cairn there.
The Greek word kdtdkronniSdi-whic
has been translated in our version, that
they might cast Him down Eeadlong'-
occurs nowhere else in the New Testament.
and there is no instance recorded in it of
this form of punishment having been ae-
tually carried out There is indeed, an
apparently weil-authenticated tradition
that the Apostle James-surnamed the
Just-was dragged, like his divine brother,
by the infatuated priests from some ele-
waited part of the temple, where he was
teaching the people the way OF salvation.
10 the verge of the precipice of Mount
Moriah, on which the temple stood, and
then, lest they should pollute the sacred
precincts with blood, they cast him down
into the valley beneath. The story, with
some variations in regard to the place and
method of precipitation, is told IN very
touching way, at considerable length. by
Eusebius He was buried in the place
where he fell, and his tomb among the
sepulchers, in the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
was preserved till the time of Hadrian.
By the Septuagint writers the same word
which St Luke employs in our Lords case
was used TO signify the barbarous method
in which the yastuumber Of captiyes whom
Amaziah, King of Judah, carried off in
his reconquest of Edom were put to death.
They were hurled down from the cliffs
oyerhanging their own city of Petra, as we
are told in the twenty fifth chapter of ?
Chronicles: And. other ten thousand
left alive did the children of Judah carry
away captive and brought them unto the
top Of the rock. and cast them down from
the top of the rock, that they all we're
broken in pieces" THE Qtiper for July